Discover the Birthplace of Star Trek’s Captain Kirk

If you’re a Trekkie (someone who LOVES Star Trek), you’ve probably heard of Riverside, IA. It’s home to the annual Trekfest, a celebration where Trekkies gather, cosplay, create, and enjoy spending time with each other. But the story behind Riverside, and how it came to be the ‘Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk’ is long. Buckle up, because we’re here to discover the little town in Iowa that’s the birthplace of Captain Kirk. 

Where Is Riverside?

Riverside is a short drive from Iowa City, surrounded by many small towns, and nestled into the state’s countryside. It’s a tiny town, with an area of 1.85 square miles, and just 1,060 citizens according to the 2020 census. But don’t let its size fool you, Riverside is a beacon for nerd culture, from its quirky motto ‘Where the Trek Begins’ to its regular Star Trek-themed events.

How Did Riverside Become the Birthplace of Captain Kirk?

The story behind Riverside becoming the birthplace of Captain Kirk first got its spark in 1985. While it’s now known that the famous Star Trek captain first appeared in Riverside, it wasn’t always that way. 

And yes, I said ‘appeared’, he wasn’t actually born in Riverside — but we’ll get to that later. 

Steve Miller, a city council member and Star Trek fan, had the idea for Riverside’s claim to fame. He’d read in The Making of Star Trek that Kirk was born in a small town in Iowa. Since the annual city festival was coming up, and there wasn’t yet a theme for it, Miller suggested they call it Trekfest and stake claim as the ‘small town in Iowa’ in which Kirk was born.

Since no one else had suggestions, another council member wondered why not, and it was unanimously voted on and approved. There was no way of knowing at the time what a great idea Miller had just suggested.

The First Trekfest

After the motion was approved, the city council began working on the new theme for their annual festival and the town itself. The word spread quickly, gathering national and even global attention within a matter of weeks. After Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek’s creator, had approved the town’s claim to fame, the members started fundraising for a statue to be erected of Captain Kirk. They sold vials of ‘Kirk dirt’ from the place where the Captain would be born, and buttons with the town’s new slogan.

While the statue took a little longer than they planned (it didn’t go up until 2018), everything else fell into place fairly quickly. The first Trekfest took place that year and was a success, Star Trek’s fans showed up in numbers and ready to celebrate. But its growing popularity also caught the attention of the show’s producer, Paramount.

Legal Troubles

While Miller escaped the legal claims of Roddenberry, he was getting plenty from Paramount. The large corporation was sending him certified letters with details about lawsuits that would bring Miller to poverty. 

Although the letters kept coming, Miller stood his ground and kept working on Trekfest. It was the popularity and fame that truly saved the town, the festival, and Miller.

He was speaking to a Paramount attorney one day, and it was the same day that the Los Angeles Times had published a page two article on Trekfest. He asked the attorney if she had seen the newspaper yet, and she said no. He asked her to open it to page two and noted that she started laughing immediately. As she looked at the major article, Miller said, “We’re giving you guys millions of dollars of free publicity every year and we have no intention of doing anything that would harm the image of Star Trek”, according to Nash FM (via Iowa Starting Line).

It was then, finally, that Miller’s legal troubles were over, as Paramount realized the city had no ill will. But our story isn’t over yet. 

The Home of Captain Kirk

Though Paramount allowed the city to stake its claim as the ‘Future Birthplace of Captain Kirk’, they didn’t acknowledge it either. That is, until the 2009 reboot of Star Trek.

In the movie, Riverside is shown as the place where Kirk first lands. However, the movie notes that Kirk is born in space, and simply raised in Riverside. This irked quite a few of the ‘die-hard’ fans, including those who reside in Riverside, like Riverside City Council Vice President Tim Geerlings. He said he was stunned by ‘the mishandling of the Kirk story line [sic],’ according to Radio Iowa, noting “When they stripped the birth of Captain Kirk away from our future, at least in one parallel universe, it muddies the waters.”

Regardless, since the reboot took place in an alternate universe and timeline, it didn’t change much. The town kept its claims as the home of Kirk and holds Trekfest every year to celebrate that fact. If you love Star Trek, you have to visit Riverside, IA, and explore the birthplace of Captain Kirk!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Palemoon Twilight / CC BY-ND 2.0 DEED – License / Original